Margie’s Intention ends win drought with DuPont Distaff victory

Margie’s Intention keeps turning Maryland into her best version of herself. Back in the state where she first announced herself a year ago, Brad Cox’s mare snapped a four-race winless run Friday with a 2 3/4-length victory in the $125,000 Allaire DuPont Distaff Stakes at Laurel Park, covering 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.26 on a fast track and paying $3.20 to win.

The race unfolded the way good turf-to-dirt form often does for a horse with a late punch and a favorable setup. Low Country Magic dictated the opening stages, with fractions of :24.70, :49.07 and 1:13.60, before Irad Ortiz Jr. angled Margie’s Intention out and asked for the finish. She responded immediately, wore down Low Country Magic and finished well clear of Late Nite Call. Queen Azteca and Complexity Jane were also in the field, which was trimmed by scratches from Ourdaydreaminggirl, Too Many Kisses and Waveless.

What makes the win matter more than the purse is where it happened and what it says about the mare’s profile. Margie’s Intention had already made Maryland a happy place with her 2025 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes win at Pimlico Race Course, the 101st running of that race on May 16, 2025. She won that day in 1:52.05 on a sloppy track after a storm delay, giving Cox another Black-Eyed Susan after Interstatedaydream’s 2022 score. Friday’s DuPont victory looked less like a surprise and more like a reaffirmation: this mare likes Maryland, and Maryland suits the way she races.

The form coming into the race backed that up. Equibase reported that Margie’s Intention had been winless in four starts since the Black-Eyed Susan, but she hit the board in every one, including a third-place finish in the Alabama Stakes behind Nitrogen and Good Cheer. Cox said the DuPont was the right spot second off the layoff, that the long stretch suited her, and that she was “very honest” and always brings her “A” game. Ortiz said he was “biding time” while she found her stride before letting her finish the job.

There is also a business side to the story that explains why this return to form mattered. BloodHorse and Equibase list her as Honor A.P. out of Playful Dancer by Into Mischief, bred in Louisiana by Coteau Grove Farms. Delta Squad Racing, LLC and Michael Dubb bought her for $1.3 million at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, with Madaket Stables, LLC joining later, after earlier prices of $185,000 at the 2024 OBS April Sale and $57,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Maryland is no longer just a sentimental stop for Margie’s Intention. It is looking more like a strategic landing spot.